Daily industrial news and top headlines for plant and maintenance managers

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indianapolis Motor Speedway has not changed its master plan in the last century.
It is still a test facility at heart.
Engineers have spent 100 years improving engines, modifying fuel mixtures, and designing new safety features, and now the 2.5-mile is ready to roll into its second century as a high-tech proving ground for the American automotive industry.

DETROIT (AP) — Toyota says its U.S. sales fell 33 percent in May because of earthquake-related vehicle shortages.
Toyota said sales of all Toyota and Lexus cars but one — the new Scion tC — declined from last May. Among SUVs and trucks, only the Tacoma pickup saw sales increase over last May.

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — A federal judge has declined to reduce the $1 million fine and $2 million in restitution he ordered paid by a Colorado company that admitted partial responsibility for the death of a Baton Rouge plant worker.
On Tuesday, Chief U.S. District Judge Ralph E. Tyson said Chemical & Metal Industries Inc.

DETROIT (AP) — U.S. auto sales cooled off in May after setting a torrid pace earlier in the year.
General Motors' sales fell 1.2 percent as it offered fewer deals to customers and cut sales to rental car companies.
The largest U.S. car company says it sold 221,192 vehicles last month, led by smaller, more fuel-efficient models.

DENVER (AP) — Federal prosecutors say Xcel Energy knew of workplace safety violations that led to the death of five workers.
A defense attorney Wednesday shot back that it was an Xcel contractor that violated regulations and called the deaths an accident.
Xcel Energy and a subsidiary, Public Service Company of Colorado, are each charged in federal court with five counts of violating Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulations for the October 2007 fire inside a water tunnel at the Cabin Creek hydroelectric plant near Georgetown, Colo.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration said Wednesday that the government will lose about $14 billion in taxpayer funds from the bailout of the U.S. auto industry.
In a report from the president's National Economic Council, officials said that figure is down from the 60 percent the Treasury Department originally estimated the government would lose following its $80 billion bailout of Chrysler and General Motors in 2009.

It was not so long ago that someone with a strong throwing arm—so the expression goes—might hurl a rock from the front lawn of Hansen Plastics Elgin, IL-based facility and hit half a dozen other plastic injection molding companies.
But times have been tough and this industry—while still highly competitive, even just domestically—is thinning out in Northern Illinois; fewer, over time, have been able to hang on.

In January 2008, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) released the Operations & Maintenance (O&M) component of its Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for Existing Buildings (LEED-EB) green buildings rating system. According to the USGBC, the system is aimed at managers and others “who wish to drive down operating costs while increasing the occupants’ productivity in an environmentally responsible manner.

Lockheed Martin is hard at work on trucks for the U.S. military that aren’t held back by their human drivers. A number of technologies, such as LADAR — or laser radar — allow the vehicles to see obstacles, and each other, in zero-visibility conditions. Lockheed’s solution is the best of both worlds as well, allowing soldiers to take over the wheel when needed, while remaining a passenger the rest of the time.

Matthew Quinn, the owner of Quinn Flags, says that his American flag business has been booming since Osama bin Laden's death. In an industry that has been saturated with competitors since 9/11, Quinn says that the latest development has been exactly what the business needed to stay ahead of the game, with sales increasing upwards of 50 percent.

With more regulation — particularly in the financial industry — affecting the salaries of top-level executives, many are left wondering if talent is fleeing the country for “greener” pastures. At the same time, many Americans are wondering: Are CEOs overpaid? CNN Money sat down with Heidrick & Struggles CEO Kevin Kelly to discuss the issue.

Eckes-Granini Group GmbH is an independent privately-held German company known for its brand of fruit juices, which are available in 70 countries worldwide. It is headquartered in Nieder-Olm, with annual turnover of 827 million Euros.
The company mission is to bring the best fruit for a healthy and enjoyable life.

Terry Moore found that he had been tying his shoes the wrong way his whole life, so he got on stage at a TED conference to demonstrate a better way. Because IMPO ’s readers are so in-tune with best practices principles, why not implement his discovery in your own life?
If you’re having trouble watching this video, try downloading the latest version of Flash Player or contacting your IT department.

STOCKHOLM (AP) — Chinese investor Pang Da has placed a $22 million (€15 million) cash order for 630 cars from Spyker NV's ailing unit Saab, the Swedish car maker said Wednesday.
The new order comes after an earlier one for 1,300 vehicles as part of last month's pact under which Pang Da agreed to buy a 24 percent stake in the Dutch company for €65 million.

SHANGHAI (AP) — China's manufacturers suffered sluggish growth in orders in May as widespread power shortages and inflation-fighting curbs on credit dampened demand, surveys showed Wednesday.
The China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said its purchasing managers index fell to 52 from 52.

TOKYO (AP) — The Japanese government wants the country's suit-loving salarymen to be bold this summer. Ditch the stuffy jacket and tie. And for the good of a country facing a power crunch, go light and casual.
Japan's "Super Cool Biz" campaign kicked off Wednesday with a government-sponsored fashion show featuring outfits appropriate for the office yet cool enough to endure the sweltering heat.

GALLATIN, Tenn. (AP) — An employee injured in a fire at a Gallatin chemical plant last week has died. Eric Hulsey is the third employee killed in accidents at the Hoeganaes (HAY'-gan-eez) Corp. plant this year.
A spokeswoman for Vanderbilt University Medical Center told The Tennessean that Hulsey died on Tuesday evening.

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. manufacturing activity expanded in May at the slowest pace in 20 months, the latest sign that a sharp rise in energy prices is hampering economic growth.
The Institute for Supply Management, a trade group of purchasing executives, said Wednesday that its index of manufacturing activity fell to 53.

TOKYO (AP) — Toyota recalled 106,000 first-generation Prius hybrid cars globally on Wednesday for faulty steering caused by a nut that may come loose.
The single minor accident suspected of being related to the problem was reported in the U.S., according to Toyota Motor Corp.
The latest recall from Toyota, which has taken hit to its reputation from massive recalls worldwide, affects 48,000 Prius vehicles in Japan, starting with the first Prius models that went on sale in 1997, and those manufactured through 2003.

From a spend and demand management perspective, every company’s objective should be to consume the bare minimum of MRO items needed to support acceptable levels of maintenance and competitive operations. But any time there is a disconnection between a buy transaction and a consumption transaction—for example, when MRO items are placed into stockrooms that don’t track consumption to individual cost centers or individuals directly—the potential emerges for invisible inventory, excessive consumption, and even theft.